As electronic components have become smaller and cheaper, such components are being integrated into electronic labels. Such electronic labels may be used in various applications including, for example, product labels, shipping labels, shelf danglers or other advertising labels, and the like. Electronic labels may include switches that a user may actuate to configure a label, sensors for sensing a change in the environment where the label is disposed, and/or one or more indicators such as a light emitter, sound generator, vibration motor, and the like. For example, an advertising label may include one or more light emitters that are activated when the user actuates a switch. A shipping label may include a temperature sensor, and a light emitter or a sound generator that is activated when the temperature sensor detects that the temperature where the shipping label is disposed is outside a predetermined range.
Typically, designing an electronic label has involved a graphic designer to design the artwork and functionality of the electronic label, and an electronics technician or engineer to design a circuit that implements the functionality of the electronic label. For example, the graphic designer may identify where indicators should be placed and when such indicators should be actuated. Thereafter, the electronics technician may design the circuit that includes a processor, a sensor, and the indicators, and the electronic traces therebetween. The electronics technician may also develop the program code executed by the processor to obtain measurements from the sensor and, if necessary, actuate the indicators.